Two-stage packing with equalizer connection



July 30, 1935. H. T. WHEELER TWO-STAGE PACKING WITH EQUALIZER CONNECTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Oct. 1, 1929 July 30, 1935. T WHEELER 2,009,423

TWO-STAGE PACKING WITH EQUALIZER CONNECTION Original Filed on. 1, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l VVENTOR Patented July 30, 1935 easy. 'r. wheeler Appraise. october i,

.. I I ill Claims."

1 This invention relates f to a two-stage p ck n and equalizer. connections for general" and refers .moreparticularly to centrifugal andrreciprocating rod-j packing..;and, specifically-fto-,- the formation of a tight joint between the moving "and stationary parts of a machine "with alw .frictionofxcontact. i One; object of --i :-means of: controlling the interna .assembled packing..-: a Anotherjobject is; to provide an automatic piadevice to regulate "the seepage; flow of the pack- ;i aa iac n 'w -th o e of r u -w: 1;. Stil1 another feature is its capabilit of deter imim'ng .anddistributing the amount of .friction t o ecreat d y thep c in nt eb xg h Still;aanother and important feature; is the 1- i -s d o l w i h dro -OI pre e in eap s e. o pac y; e; adjusted -todistribute the friction createdpver the area of k n a e- J I also desire to distributeethe deerease inp resre 'n rm aswpos i e, o e .thQa' Q- that the friction will not be -excessive at point. y V

;. The advantages of this, invention will .be nore clearlyobserved-, and further; objects disclosed in the courseof the following description, accomnvention is to: provide; a I lpr ssure o h pani'ed bythe; drawings wherein: 3 q

Fig. leis a sectional view oiastufiing bloxlwith i he glandiand. equaiizer connections in place;

Fig. 3 1s a perspectiveof the spring nest.

Fig.3;is a. perspective oil-the packing follower. is-a crosssectionf the spring. nest assembly. I

I Eig 5 is a c -.Fi g. 5d isanend elevation oi thei'e xpanding ross sectional yaw-er isa-perspective.Viw'ofjthe gland... ,j flis a side elevation of the gland. l I I 8 a planviewof two multiple stage pumps series, showingfthe method of equalizing the two-stage packing internal pressures by connectionstopointsflin'the pressure system. f Mydnve'ntion .may; be applied generally; in t t .bo s li n m n ijmdf l shaft and is illustrated herein I particularly as "connected with a highjpressure pumpior turbine ein'g connected'atthe outer n ism e qe end ,o-fthe pump I; s ng. The stufiing box I has on the 'innerside toward the housingan or wall I againstwa inmifictm Pa i i n -llWliRhW ee n mar eet- 9 the esse "or "the stuffing box is'a radially projecting'flange all ws).

Renewed January 18, 1935 CKINGWITH EQUALVIZER comc'rroni Q'nauas', Tex..- seam to V ,TEl izabeth Wheeler, Dallas ,,Tex. I

(Cl.'286 -Z8)j 1 l I I or-wall 'l furnishingra support for the clamp- :ing :b'01ts-'.4'= by' means; of which the packing gland-zmay be fixedor clamped tightly against ztlie packingzw: Said bo'x and" glahdzfit" about" a moving rod 5 or shaftr3 and theugland is clamped inwardly against the packing by;thebolts onscrews '4 having-nutsiion the outer end thereof. 1 1 i v The 'packing rings 6 employed in this invention are of porous tifibrousmateria'land preferably impregnated with a; lubricant as will be later noted.

v 7 Incarrying' out .inyg-inventlon I-provide a mov- :able partition or=adjustable gland .1, which is formed of ring shapeand' adapted to be clam'ped 'agaln's't theinner-wallsof the box' by an expanding screw With-reference particularly to Figs. 6 and -7, it will benoted that"the "gland orpartition is split longitudinally on thelplane X and along this plane are inwardly tapered threaded openings to re'eeive the expanding screws 8, said screws hav- -ing polygonal recessesue theteinto receive a #wrench:- -'rhe 'outerhperiphery --of the: gland is 'provided with "a wide recess 11 extending entirely {about the -frin "and'forminf'g a: channel for the 5 pressur fiuid'. There are" also radial openings through the ringdndica'ted at a in the drawings. 1 Tnese passages allowthe' pressure fluid escaping 'along'the' shaft topass outwardly into the "chan- -nel or groove 1. a =-'In=fi xing this gland in the adjusted position. as shown inf-Fig} l", by expanding. the same by means i of the screw" 8, the same may be adjusted to-register the channel 1" somewhere along the inner fend-of the vent provided by the threaded plug having tl ie fiu'id. outlet '11 therein'. i Said outi let is controlled by a-valve' I5- held in the .outer fend of'the" vent opening b'y means. of; a 'spring 20. I There -is 'a cap l'l'over the outer end .of the plug thfe'a'xled to be adjustable alongthe plug to reg- --nlat'e'"the press'ure of the-spring 20. Said valve has a; stem '|'6-' projecting .outwardly and about "which thesprin'gnis' located. l. v 5 i 1 The plug 15 provided v ith a lateral outlet l8 into-which is connected a pipe! 9 leading to some ;por tion;ofthe pump or evenxto atmosphere where the-pressure is 'lower than that- ;in';; the stufling box' at' thathpoint-v' Q7! :11; 1' v At -t'heinner end of :the stufiing'box I'fix a spring nst'whereby-thepacking rings *on the-inner -Slde'l01fl the adjustable gland may be held "under pressure-tnThis" nest consists ofa ring ll,

liown best in Fig.8.: Of." an outer diameter api proximately the. same as the; inner diameter of the 'box and splitzlongitudinally along an offset 55 line shown at l2; There are recesses l2 on the inner side of the flange ll into which the springs I2 may fit. The ring has a collar which is provided with an inner stopflange Ii and an intermediate stop flange H Along one side of the collar isla key I3 adapted to fit within a keyway M in the mating ring I 0 shown in Fig. 2.

Said ring Ill is also longitudinally divided so as to allow the same to be fitted over the shaft, said line of division being indicated at [2.

in Figs. 1 and 4, with the springs seated within the recesses, the two partitions may bepmovedrelative to each other with thering I 0' engaged between the inner flanges I I and N and limited in its longitudinal movement by said flanges.

It will be obvious that when the innerrings 6 are seated in the stufiing box against the spring nest the gland or partition! may-be introduced and forced tightly. against the packing .ri'ngsso as to compress the springs '12 and thus place the packing rings 5 under compression- :When the proper pressure is obtained: the gland I may be anchored in position by means ,of the-expanding screw 8 and some portion of the outer channel I of said partition will register with the vent opening 1 previously described; The outer rings 6 will then be inserted within. the box: and the gland 2 clamped tightly against the same.---.

The packing ,rings 6 which I employ ,areof fibrous material impregnated with ,wax or, oil.

pores is a seepage ilow and should bedistinguished from a leakage along the rodor the, box wall.

being elastic and reactive. The greatest friction occurs where the drop of pressure occurs.

I find it desirableto. distribute thC dl'ODfOf pressure in anporous packing at morethan one point so that the reaction will occur at more than a. one point. I therefore employthe gland I and arrange it to be adjustable so that itmay be positioned toaccommodate the thickness and form of the packing rings employed. I When fixed 1 in position it formsan'intermediate, stop or thrust member at that point-.1 desire to position 7 this gland so that the friction caused, by the opposed sets of packing ringswill be proportional to the number ofrings employed in each set. I

thus regulate the friction alongthe rod. Inasmuch as the seepage nowthrough a'single set of packing under several thousand pounds of presv sure, for example, may not be more than one drop of liquid every fifteen minutes, the discharge through the automatic valve is figurative and 'all --3. ;In'a stuffing box for rods and the like, a

that the latter does is to establish a pressure level. What happens, as research has established,

h re are also spring receiving recesses I 2 on the outer' face of the said ring Hi. When these two por-i tions of the nest are fitted together asshown' is that if the seepage flow is too rapid the springs will compress the structure-if too slow, the packing expands and compresses the springs, so that the flow will increase. The pressure level establishes the rate of flow.

It should be obvious that at the gland position, theinternal pressure, should be a proportional value in relation to the length to establish a uniform drop throughout the structure. For ex- ,ample, for the gland in mid-position, the internal pressure at the gland should be one-half the impressed pressure. waive will be set to discharge any pressure more than one-half thevalue of that impressed, thus Therefore, the automatic controlling the drop of pressure across the inside set of rings which will cause one-half of the friction to'be created by that same set. The outer set cannot create morefriction than that due to one-half of the pressure impressed.

This device provides two points of thrust absorption whichcauses the pressure to drop at two points, the amount of friction being thereby distributed to occur half in each compartment, not possible with any single type set of porous packing.

The critical point of'all packing operation is the amount of friction thatoccurs over the area. It a small length of the packing carries most of the friction, the heating and temperature, as well as the abrasive features will be greatest at that point, so that regardless of the condition of thebalance of the set, the point of highest friction controls the life, the adjustment and the general utility of the set. In this device it is not claimed to seal the joint with any less total friction, but to divide the friction producing areas into two sections, thereby distributing the frlc tion and securing a coeflicient at least one-half the value that is posisible with a single set. V

It will thus be seen'that I can regulate the friction of the ring upon the shaft so that in no inj stallation will the friction be excessive. The furthe'r advantages of the construction will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

} I claim: 1. Apacking device for rods including a stufflng In sealing the joint about) the rodiiafriction box about the a'retalmng rib at the inner of contact is created, that 18,1116 ring structure end thereof, an adjustable gland at the opposite end of said stuillng box, an intermediate gland,

' means to" fix said' intermediate gland rigidly "sure on said intermediate gland to relieve the fluid pressure at said gland, and thereby control the drop of internal pressure in said packing.

,2. In a stufling box for rods, a gland at the outer end thereof about said rod, a resilient support at'the'inner end, an intermediate adjustable partition fixed to the inner wall of said box, sets of compressible porous packing rings impregnated with a lubricant iillingthe space between'said support and said'partition and between said gland and said partition, said rings being adapted to be expanded through saturation by pressure fluid therein and. means to equalize thefriction exerted on both sides of said partition on said rod.

longitudinallydividedgland between the ends of walls, porous packing rings filling said box at each side of said gland and adapted to permit a seepage flow of pressure fluid therethrough, means to place said packing rings under compression to obtain a frictional contact with said rod and said box, and means to relieve the flow pressure at said gland.

4. In a stufling box subjected to pressure, a flexible rod packing member compressed between the rod and stufling box wall, a rigid partition frictionally fixed to the walls of said box to divide said packing member into an inner section and an outer section so that the friction of contact created in each section is proportional to the drop of pressure within each said section, an automatic valve connected to the partition between said packing member sections responsive to a predetermined fluid pressure at said partition to control the pressure level between the source of pressure and said partition, to thereby control the drop of internal pressure in said inner section and regulating the amount of friction created by said inner packing section.

5. In a stuffing box for rods and the like, a longitudinally adjustable partition between the ends of said box, means to fix said partition in the desired position, porous packing rings on both sides of said partition, resilient means to com-' press the rings on the inner side of said partition, a gland on the opposite side, and means to regulate the fluid pressure at said partition to a predetermined maximum.

6. In a stufling box for rods and the like, a longitudinally adjustable partition between the ends of said box, means to fix said partition in the desired position, porous packing rings on both sides of said partition, resilient means to compress the rings on the inner side of said par- I tition, a gland on the opposite side, and means to force said gland against the rings at the outer side of said partition to compress them independently of the rings on the inner side of said partition.

7. A packing device for rods including a stufiing box about the rod, an adjustable gland at the outer end of said stufiing box, an intermediate adjustable gland, means to fix said intermediate gland rigidly against longitudinal movement at any adjusted position in said box, compressible packing rings of porous material filling the space on opposite sides of said intermediate gland, and adapted to be expanded by fluid pressure therein, and means responsive to'a predetermined pressure on said intermediate gland to relieve the fluid pressure at said gland, and

thereby control the drop of internal pressurein said packing.

8. In a stuffing box for rods, a gland at the outer end thereof about said rod, an intermediate adjustable partition fixed to the inner wall of said box, sets of compressible porous packing rings filling the space between said support and said partition'and between said gland and said partition, said rings being adapted to be expanded through saturation by pressure fluid therein and means associated with said partition to relieve fluid pressure in excess of a predetermined amount exerted at both sides of said partition on said rod.

9. In a stufiing box for rods and the like, a longitudinally adjustable partition between the ends of said box, means to fix said partition in the desired position, packing rings on both sides of said partition, means to compress the rings on the innerside of said partition, a gland on the opposite side, means to force said gland against the rings at the outer side of said partition, and means to limit the fluid pressure within said box along said rod.

10. In a stufling box for rods and the like, a longitudinally adjustable partition between the ends of said box, means to fix said partition in the desired position, packing rings on both sides of said partition, means to compress the packing longitudinally of said box, and a vent at said partition adapted to relieve fluid pressure only in excess of a predetermined amount.

' HARLEY T. WHEELER. 

